


let's change the world

by scorpiius



Series: albus & scorpius; fifth year [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Beginning of friends to lovers, Best Friends, Fluff, Harry Potter Next Generation, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Spoilers, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Owlery, Short & Sweet, Tame tbh, The next one will be a bit more interactive, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 11:20:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7889590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpiius/pseuds/scorpiius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What? I have?" Scorpius rambled out, his words blending together as the redness in his cheeks deepened. "Sorry, I just- you're pretty. Wait, that sounded weird. I just realised I've never looked at you, not that it's normal to check out your best friend. Wait, not check out. That would imply that I-"</p><p>or the one where it's the beginning of their fifth year and scorpius wants to start making better hogwarts memories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	let's change the world

**Author's Note:**

> saw cursed child on the 25th-26th august and the owlery scene made me emotional ! all i could think of was albus and scorpius returning a year later to try and make better memories. so here we go.
> 
> this will probably become a series of albus/scorp fics. stay tuned.
> 
> tumblr: scorpiusmlafoy

Scorpius couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he sat down at the top of the staircase to the Owlery. The breeze was familiar, gently brushing through his naturally bleach-blond hair and skimming over the delicate skin on his cheeks. It brought him back to the year before when he sat up here properly for the first time. Except, this time, no evil witch full of dark magic was going to be interrupting him. He never did quite like Delphi, whether it was because he sensed a dangerous aura from her or he felt rather jealous seeing Albus interact with her so coyly and nervously- he just didn't like her. But she wasn't a problem anymore, nobody was.

There hadn't really been any problems the last year. Of course, there were still some pupils who would tease him, try and bait him by bringing up the _rumours_. But Scorpius had grown to ignore them. He knew the truth, and everyone he cared for knew the truth. And at the end of the day, that was all that mattered. It was a curious situation, Scorpius thought, that so much had changed in the last year yet so little seemed physically different. There were certain things that had changed, but his popularity level, school life and home life had barely budged. The changes, he supposed, were far larger than his simple life. His simple and short, yet painful, life.

"You're doing it again," a voice said, interrupting Scorpius in his thoughts and made him snap back to reality. The voice was soft, still slightly high pitched and had a touch of guilt in it. It was Albus, of course. Albus always sounded guilty when he interrupted Scorpius going to his- what did Albus call it again? 'Deep place', his brain helpfully supplied. It was like Albus could just look at Scorpius' eyes and know where he was. He sometimes wondered whether Albus knew him better than he knew himself. "Staring ahead, eyes kind of droopy. You've gone to your deep place. Penny for your thoughts?" He finished, sitting himself down next to Scorpius.

"I doubt anybody would pay to know what's going on in my mind," Scorpius joked, his self deprecating tone adding a shaky shrillness to his voice. He noticed the immediate frown that fell on to Albus' face, and quickly turned so that he was facing him. "Sorry, sorry. Bad joke, I still haven't distinguished when a joke is appropriate. I'm fine, mostly. Just thinking." Albus stared at him, causing Scorpius to shuffle uncomfortably. It wasn't awkward or intrusive; it was nice. Scorpius just still wasn't used to kindness. He looked down to Albus' hands and watched as he pulled out a bag of toffee sweets, tipping them into his hand. "I got them from Hugo. Apparently Hermione is still obsessively making toffees whenever she's at home. Want one?" He asked, Scorpius nodding as he took one and popped it in his mouth.

"I was thinking about last year." Scorpius said.

"Last year? I told you-"

"I know what you told me," Scorpius interrupted, waiting until he had finished his sweet to look back over at Albus. "I wasn't thinking about the bad parts or the Other Worlds. I was thinking of when we were here. You know, when she came and ruined everything. We were having a swell old time and she just ruined it."

"Is that why you told me to come meet you here?" Albus questioned, not waiting for an answer because they both knew he already knew the answer. "Scorpius, you don't have to have us meet up at every location where something went wrong so we can try and make it better."

"But I hate the fact this place will always be tainted by her negative aura. I just keep expecting her to pop up like she did the first time." Scorpius answered, his voice slightly fast and pitch raised in an automatic way of defending himself. It was only when Albus moved closer to him that he remembered he didn't have to defend himself in front of anyone, especially Albus.

"See, now I feel like this is my fault since I told her to come." Murmured Albus, pursing his lips slightly.

"Albus, you know this isn't your fault. You didn't know that she was going to be the genuine spawn of Evil." Scorpius replied, his tone a little drier than he intended for it to be.

"Now you just sound patronising." Albus chuckled.

"Seriously, Albus. You didn't know. How could you prevent something you didn't know?" Scorpius said, his question rhetorical. "You couldn't. But now do you see why I'm trying to make better memories here? This place is quaint, sweet."

"And full of owl muck." Supplied Albus, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Why am I friends with you?"

"Because you have to be. We belong together, duh." Albus said.

"You do get it, right?" Scorpius cautiously asked, needing reassurance that he and Albus were on the same page. They usually always were, but any simple misunderstanding could become something chaotic for them.

"Of course I do."

"Good. So, let's make some decent memories. I asked you to bring the snacks, which you did. And I got a new Travel Wizards Chess before we came back for this term. So we're going to play chess, eat sweets and have _fun_. While breaking the rules since it's past curfew and we're out of the dormitory. But you have the cloak and the map so we're fine." Scorpius ordered, setting up the miniature version of chess on the floor between them, watching Albus open the map so they could keep an eye on any Professors who might try and spoil their fun.

And for the next hour, two hours- Scorpius lost count, they played, ate and joked as the moon crossed the sky, leaving a milky glow on their faces that made Scorpius appear even paler than he already was. He had supposed it was part of the Malfoy gene, being incredibly pale to the point where he could probably play the role of a ghost. Albus was never pale, but the longer Scorpius thought the more he realised Albus had never really been pale. He didn't know why he'd never noticed, or why it was just now the thought came to him, but he found himself staring as Albus ordered his chest pieces to move. Maybe it was the fact their friendship and time spent together had always been fast, friendly or ferocious that meant Scorpius had never really _looked_ at his best friend. But now, the more he watched the more settled he felt. The similarities between Albus and Harry were quite astonishing. Compared to his siblings, of course. Lily had always had the Weasley face, the hair and the body. James- in some peculiar and mind boggling way- almost looked like Sirius Black. His hair curled slightly if he ever grew it out, and his facial shape was sharper than both the Potter and Weasley complexion. But Albus was undoubtedly a Potter. His hair was the same shaggy style, colour almost as jet black as Harry's and if Scorpius thought hard enough and imagined glasses on Albus, then he could possibly pass as Harry himself. It was spooky, in a way. But it humoured Scorpius slightly that the child who least wanted to be a Potter looked more like one than any of the other children.

"Okay, two points," Albus interrupted, again, mocking Scorpius in his phrase. "First point, it's your move. And second point, you've been staring at me all weird for a long time."

"What? I have?" Scorpius rambled out, his words blending together as the redness in his cheeks deepened. "Sorry, I just- you're pretty. Wait, that sounded weird. I just realised I've never _looked_ at you, not that it's normal to check out your best friend. Wait, not check out. That would imply that I-"

"That you what?" Albus asked, right eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

"That I- nothing. Never mind, it's late and we have our first OWL introduction class tomorrow. We should head back." Scorpius said, rushing to pack up the chess set, his carelessness causing some pieces to roll off the board and almost tumble down the stairs but luckily, as always, Albus was there to quite literally pick up the pieces.

"Scorpius, calm down. You're doing that other thing you do where you get all skittish and shaky. I'm surprised you haven't started rubbing your neck yet." Albus said, his voice laced with softness and a hint of cheekiness.

"I'm trying to stop doing that since it makes my neck all sweaty." Mumbled Scorpius, picking up the map so he could examine where all the Professors were.

"Stop changing yourself," Albus said, quiet enough that Scorpius almost didn't catch the comment. "We can use the cloak if you're nervous. I know you always panic thinking we'll get caught. You'd think after sneaking out almost every day since we got back last month you would realise nobody will find us. But that's just you, I suppose."

"Okay, now what is that supposed to mean?" Scorpius asked, picking up the cloak and held it out. Being in their fifth year and both having had experienced growth spurts during the summer, the cloak just about fell to the floor if they crouched. It was uncomfortable, but they hadn't found a way to either expand the cloak or shrink themselves. Not that Scorpius particularly wanted to try and transfigure himself or the magical cloak into something else. He'd had far too many bad experiences in Transfiguration trying to watch Albus transform his simple book into a chalice.

"You keep telling me you're trying to stop doing certain things either because you think it's annoying or you think people are watching you. All those things make you you Scorpius, the more you change the sadder I get." Albus said.

"I meant the uh, second point but I guess- I suppose. Right, no more changing." Scorpius said, hand brushing through his hair as he tried to take in what Albus just said. Moments like that seemed to be happening a lot more frequently recently. They would get into a somewhat deep conversation and one of them would comment something rather affectionate. They never really were a touchy pair, never really mentioned how much they needed one another, because they both already knew. But it was moments like that, when one would blurt something out, that made Scorpius wonder what was going on between them.

"Oh, well. That one, I... Don't even know. I just like the way you are, the way you always have been. You're the most important person in my life, Scorpius. I know you well. It just makes me sad to think you'd try to change," Albus said, both staying quiet as they stepped under the cloak. "But anyway, like you said. We should go. Don't want you to miss out on any precious beauty sleep." He teased.

Scorpius flicked Albus' cheek, narrowing his eyes at him. "I don't need beauty sleep. I just would hate to not seem awake for classes." "Of course you don't." Albus said, shaking his head with a fond look on his face. The expression was new, unfamiliar. It gave Scorpius a sensation in his stomach as though someone was tickling his tummy. He brushed it off as much as he could, but the feeling was still there as they knocked hands and walked back down the steps towards the castle. And Scorpius was too distracted with how close they were, the feeling in his stomach and how elegantly beautiful the castle looked illuminated by just the moonlight and some lanterns that he completely forgot to pick up the bag of toffees they left lying on the floor.


End file.
